INDUS RIVER

INDUS RIVER The Indus River is Pakistan’s longest river It originates in the Kalias mountain range in Tibet and flows through Kashmir before entering Pakistan At Muzzarafad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, the Neelum River (called the Kishenganga by the Indians) joins the Indus River The Indus flows into the great Punjab plain north of Tarbela dam Before entering Punjab, the Indus is joined by the Kabul River In Punjab, it picks up five more tributaries, the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Sutlej, and the Beas The river flows into the Arabian Sea through a delta south of Karachi The river is 3,060 kilometers longThe Indus and its tributary rivers supply a great deal of water for land irrigation in Pakistan’s three provinces, the Northwest Frontier, Punjab, and Sindh For the last 100 years, an extensive network of dams, barrages, and weirs have been built on the river and its tributaries to water the plains of Pakistan

Without these irrigation works, today much of Pakistan would be desert With these irrigation works obstructing the flow of water, the Indus is not used for navigation If boats ply the river, they are generally small and do not cover great distances In fact, the Indus is the only one of the world’s great rivers not used for transport